The design and build quality of the hardware controller are stunning and have combined to create a work of art which manages to balance aesthetic beauty and functionality perfectly looking like something that would have been created if Lexicon and Euphonix’s designers had got together to work on a product. Spark LE is essentially a compact version of Spark that uses the same sound engine and sound set as the original version but has a streamlined user interface and a hardware controller with a much smaller footprint. The latest incarnation of Spark is the Spark LE or Sparkle as it is surely destined to become known as and is a compact version of the Spark which could very well tempt potential Maschine Mikro owners to take this box of tricks home instead. When Arturia released their hybrid plug-in & hardware Spark drum machine it piqued more than a little interest amongst those in the know and for good reason because this drum machine not only sounded awesome but also managed to do things in its own unique way that inspired creativity by merging the tried and trusted old skool way of doing things with the benefits of modern technology (as is the Arturia way of doing things) to create a killer drum machine that was a real contender to Maschine’s crown but did things in such a different way that the two could easily sit side by side in a studio and be perfectly useful in their own right. Arturia is a name well known in the studio community as a company that makes some of the most authentic and widely used software versions of classic synthesisers as well as hardware that has a habit of combining classic old school sounds along with sounds that are bang up to date with today’s cutting edge genres.

Max4live arturia spark